Note: Into the Vault, it's time to go, I hate to leave, I have to, though. Into the Vault, it's time and so, I must begin my journey...

The snow started as a blizzard, but gradually turned into whisps. The fields of thick white slowly turned to dry forests, evergreen trees that had turned dark and rigid from the cold. Ruby normally spent her trips staring out the window, observing the changing scenery. Growing up isolated on Patch, it was easy to forget how big the world truly was, how many experiences she yet to have. She wished she could return to that naivety. She wished she could waste hours staring out the window.

Instead, her eyes were glued to her Scroll—and the holographic map of the Vault that she desperately tried to burn into her memory.

"The Vault was discovered around seventy years ago, though we had known about its possible existence for decades earlier," Ozpin explained. "A couple on a wilderness hike stumbled upon it. We can consider ourselves fortunate they decided to report it to the proper authorities."

The same holographic map was now projected above his desk: a uniform octagonal structure consisting of short pathways and connected, symmetrical chambers. There were twenty-four, by Ruby's count, though beyond its inherent shape, there was little she could deduce on her own. The other Huntsmen on her team were huddled around Ozpin's desk, trying to get a closer look. Their attention had been fully captured. The irony did not escape her. For once, Ozpin was teaching them something.

"We've come up with several theories as to why it was created. The most prominent, obviously, is that it was a storage facility. In the aftermath of the Fable war, any powerful weapons would have to be carefully discarded to ensure they did not fall into the wrong hands. The Vault was created to keep out any rogue Fables who might have tried to take advantage of the power vacuum. Of course, there are holes in that theory—primarily, there might not have been enough surviving Fables to build the Vault, or even to be concerned with. Deducing its true purpose would be beneficial to our understanding of Fable culture, though obviously that's not a priority for you."

"Right," Ruby nodded. "So where's the Grail located?"

"I hope you're asking that so you know where to stay away from."

"If Penny is headed toward the Grail, that's where we'll find her," Ruby reasoned. "So, where is it?"

"We have no idea," Ozpin admitted. "We've never gotten that far."

"Who is the we?" Weiss questioned.

"Three expeditions have been launched into the Vault. One right after its initial discovery, a second fifteen years ago, and the final thirteen years ago," Ozpin continued. "Each time, a squadron of Atlasian soldiers was sent within, along with a handful of Huntsmen. They were able to use mapping technology to get the general layout of the structure, but the specifics of each chamber haven't been fully discovered."

"Because they all died," Yang said pointedly.

"Yes, Miss Xiao Long. Because they all died. If I had to hazard a guess, I would wager the Grail is stored in the furthest chambers. No one said this would be easy."

"The Huntsmen: what killed them?" Ruby asked intently. Ozpin merely shook his head.

"We don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Radio contact with the outside world is incredibly difficult inside of the Vault," Ozpin warned. "You all heard Miss Polendina's message. She likely had to devote significant resources to sending an SOS. The entrance to the Vault is a descent of thirty meters underground, and measurements of the outer wall tell us they are five meters thick. Strong enough to survive any bomb we might throw at it. All that to say: we didn't get a very good description of what killed our recon squadrons. What we do know was that it was something… big."

Ruby pursed her lips. Something big? A strange way to describe a security system. Unless… Ozpin was suggesting something was actually alive down there?"

"Okay, so watch out for big things. Got it," Blake sighed, crossing her arms. "Any other tips?"

"Well, speaking of big," Ozpin stated, "the Vault was made for Fable navigation, not Humans. Fables averaged about three times our size, so it might be rather spacious. The Fables also valued aesthetic beauty equally to practical purposes, so it should look rather beautiful on the inside. That's what our report of the first chamber indicates, anyway."

"Cool, so we'll have something to admire as we get decapitated," Blake smirked.

"You're the one that wants to venture there, Miss Belladonna. Not me," Ozpin reminded her. "Try not to get distracted. A lot has changed in thirteen years. We are more prepared than we have ever been; however, we are still dealing with technology that is millennia beyond anything we have created. I suspect that having Fable abilities on your side will be quite useful, likely more useful than bullets. So, perhaps try to avoid confrontation while you are down there. If you don't cause a mess, given your stature, perhaps you'll be ignored."

Velvet raised her hand. "Excuse me, I have a question."

"Yes, Miss Scarlatina," Ozpin invited her. He had always been impressed with her studiousness, and even in life-or-death circumstances, she had not changed. He was glad to see not all of Team RWBY's destructive tendencies had rubbed off on her.

Velvet could not hide her nerves. "So, no one has ever explored the Vault in its entirety. We don't even know what it was used for before it was abandoned."

"That's correct."

"Then… how do we even know the Holy Grail is down there?" she asked. "How did we discover that if no one has ever seen it?"

"That's actually quite simple," Ozpin said, his wise gaze falling onto Ruby. "Your mother told us."

Ruby felt her heart get caught in her throat. "My… my mom?"

"Extracting that information was difficult. Rosaline was hardly compliant," Ozpin confessed, preferring not to dwell on any memories that made the tension even more palpable. "But in the end, she learned enough. The Grail is waiting in that Vault. And so is Miss Polendina. I promise you that."

"I think we're coming up on the base."

Weiss's words snapped Ruby out of her concentration. She put away her Scroll and shook off her nerves. She could feel the airship shaking as it began its descent into the forest, the turbulence doing her twisting stomach no favors. She tried to keep her gaze focused on the ground. Ozpin was supposed to send word that they were arriving, though she knew better than to take his word for it. She had to prepare in case the soldiers at the base immediately began to open fire. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, though she was going to have to explain to a bunch of starving, culturally disconnected Atlasian boys why a group of students was showing up to a top-secret government facility. That'd be fun.

Ruby's gaze wandered to the others, particularly her non-team members. She wondered what they were thinking, going on their first mission. Were they sacred? Almost certainly. Resentful? Hopefully not. She needed them to have confidence. She wouldn't have brought them along if she thought they'd be a liability. Yes, even Jaune, who currently struggled to keep down his lunch from horrible motion sickness. Pyrrha was gently rubbing his leg, trying to soothe him before he vomited all over the airship. Coco was sat next to her, and she was…

Wait, how long had she been staring at her?

The question exited Ruby's mind as fast as it appeared. The airship touched down gracelessly, and there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere—as if all of the cold from the outside rushed in and bit at their skin. The twelve only had a few moments to collect their weapons and gather their senses before the ramp opened up to the outside world. Yang and Nora both stood up excitedly, stretching out their limbs and cracking their knuckles.

"Party time!" Nora shouted.

"Let's do this," Yang smiled.

The two quickly exchanged glances. Wow… two people excited to go on missions? This partnership was wild.

The ramp lowered, and Ruby stepped out into the open. She pulled the hood of her cape over her ears to protect herself from the nipping cold. Ozpin had told them there was a military outpost set up within the forest. He didn't mention it would be so… pathetic. Ruby gulped as she looked around. A measly five buildings, each appearing on the verge of collapse due to disrepair. Weapons laying out disorganized. The less-than-thirty soldiers manning the base had all spilled out of their posts and were standing around like dumb sheep, staring at the arriving party with blank, bewildered expressions. The only sounds in the decaying land were the slowed whirring of the airship blades and the rustling of the damp, black mat on which she stood.

Ruby stood there, waiting for one of the soldiers to respond to her. She expected at least them to ask for her credentials. But no… they just stood there. Pathetically. She could only conclude that the station had rotted their minds.

"Um… can we please speak to the commanding officer here?" Ruby asked. Her teammates shifted uncomfortably behind her. Blake was the only one in an active combat stance, preparing for the worst. The sights of their dirty uniforms repulsed her.

Eventually, one of the men approached the airship. He was as withered as the forest, his face wide and gruff and seasoned with moles. His uniform was slightly fancier than the others, though beneath the wrinkles she couldn't properly make out its more distinguished features. Like most Atlasians, his skin was pale and his eyes were blue, though they too were faded. If there was a commanding officer of this paltry excuse for an outpost, it would be him. As he approached Ruby's position, he seemed to shrink. She realized only when he was standing directly before her that he was her height.

"I am the commanding officer," he said with a gravelly voice. "First Sergeant Clyde Williams Sc—"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

The First Sargeant became little more than a footnote. The gazes of Team NYBF turned southward as a shriek tore threw the open air. A woman stumbled out into the open—all four members of Team RWBY drew their weapons and pointed them directly at her in a panic. The First Sergeant stepped back in shock and reached to his waist for a pistol. The rest of the soldiers, JNPR, and CFVY were frozen in horror for the moment, but the tension died when the emerging woman took a step forward… and fell flat onto her face.

Glynda Goodwitch didn't look good. Like… like really not good. Ruby wasn't expecting her, because someone didn't bother mentioning that she was here, even though that would have been really nice to know. As such, Ruby was taken aback by just how badly Goodwitch had deteriorated. Her clothes were a mess, obviously; sweats and that coat did not go together. Her eyes were sunken and her hair was in knots and seemed to be thinning slightly at the top. Her skin had taken upon an awful hue, something almost a shade of green, and Ruby could see protrusions in her neck as the muscles wore thin and the tendons started to show themselves. As she pushed herself up to her feet, she struggled to keep her balance, nearly falling over again immediately. Ruby was left speechless. Just how bad did her firing get to her? She didn't just look disheveled… she looked ill.

Still, she was a threat, and none of Team RWBY lowered their guard. She had nothing holding her back if she decided to take her revenge. Limply, Goodwitch wandered over to the airship, each step taken on shakier legs. She walked right up to the First Sergeant, and before he could protest, she shoved him out of the way. No one cared about him anyway, after all. She growled at the students and opened her mouth to curse at them. Instead, she suddenly hunched over and violently coughed.

She took a deep breath—then coughed again.

She spat some mucus from her throat onto the ground and groaned lifelessly.

"Fucking… goddammit…"

Team RWBY reluctantly lowered their weapons. Ruby was the first to comment.

"So… this is where Ozpin's been keeping you."

"Don't act like you haven't… missed me…" Goodwitch growled between violent coughs. She wiped her spit off on her sleeve, trying to maintain some dignity in the face of such rotten women. It was a fool's errand.

"You look like shit," Blake stated.

"Still hotter than—" Goodwitch coughed again. Blake just rolled her eyes. If the circumstances were different, she would be basking in the former professor's misery. It was well deserved, after all. Unfortunately, the military presence and the severity of her mission made it impossible to celebrate. She would keep her snide comments to herself, and simply tuck away the visual of Goodwitch in agony into her memory, where she could use it to lull herself to sleep.

"Are you dying?" Weiss asked uncomfortably.

"No. Probably," Goodwitch confessed. "See, a few days ago… had a little run-in with our favorite glass-limbed terrorist."

Ruby's eyes widened. "Glass was here?"

"Yep. Don't worry. I…" Cough. "Exploded her. I think."

"You killed her?" Yang said in shock.

"Exploded," Goodwitch repeated. "Unfortunately, I may have gone a bit… overboard with my Semblance. My body isn't very happy with me. I've been…" Cough cough. "Drifting in and out of a coma for the past few days."

None of Team RWBY knew what to think. Was Mrs. Glass really dead? It would be a relief if it were true. They all shared the collective nightmare of waking up one morning to another Grimm attack, the world collapsing around them as the terrorist manipulated them from the shadows. If she were gone, a major obstacle would be eliminated. Unfortunately, Goodwitch's lack of confirmation didn't provide comfort, and they all suspected that Glass had somehow slithered her way to survival. It was a major concern for another day. For now, they had business to attend to.

"I take it then that Ozpin hasn't spoken to you," Ruby reasoned.

"If he did, I'd have told him not to send you. You haven't explained why you're here."

"We're here to save Penny," Weiss explained casually. Goodwitch stared at her like she was the dumbest human on the planet.

"Penny?" she muttered. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Maybe you missed something in that coma," Ruby stated, though she did begin to worry. "Penny is inside of the Vault. Ironwood sent her there without Ozpin's permission. We've come to rescue her."

Goodwitch stared at them bewildered, and then let out a wicked laugh. Well, something as close to a laugh as she could manage. Team NYBF stared uncomfortably at her, letting their fears take hold of her. Goodwitch's laugh turned into another cough, and she nearly collapsed entirely, but she was able to keep herself upright.

"Penny… Penny isn't here."

A chorus of gasps rang out from the students.

"What?"

"Are you sure?"

"You're lying."

"No, honest! Why would I lie?" Goodwitch chortled. "I haven't heard a lick from Penny or Ironwood or anyone in days. I haven't been that out of it. Whatever intel told you that Penny was here was mistaken."

Ruby felt a nauseous wave rush over her. That… that didn't make any sense. Penny had to be here, and Goodwitch was screwing with their heads. But why would she lie about it? And if Penny wasn't actually here, what the hell did she hear? Why was she summoned to this Vault? She had rejected the possibility of the SOS being a fake, but was she acting too hastily? Did her emotions get the best of her reason? And if this was a trap, if she was lured here by some menacing force… did that mean she had already fallen into enemy hands.

She took a quick look at her surroundings. There were trees everywhere, but also, shadows, even in the bright sun. Who knew what forces lurked in the brush? Glass… or maybe, the real enemy was directly in front of her. The rest of her team was equally on edge. The revelation struck a terrible nerve, and they were left waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were alone in the middle of nowhere, flanked by a hostile army and a vengeful teacher. Their entire mission might have ended before it even began.

Standing behind Ruby, Coco's furious stare only deepened. If that arrogant kid actually led them into a deathtrap…

"Uh…ma'am?"

The First Sergeant, whose name Team NYBF had already forgotten, awkwardly walked up to Goodwitch's side. He leaned into her ear, though his gravely voice could not keep a secret from the students.

"A woman did show up to the Vault several days ago."

Goodwitch turned to him in shock. "Wait, what?"

"Yes, ma'am. On orders from General Ironwood," he explained.

Flabbergasted, Goodwitch turned and screamed at him. "Then why the hell didn't you tell me?"

She smacked him on top of his head, and the First Sargeant weakly cowed before her. "We did tell you, ma'am. You even met her personally."

Goodwitch stood there in dumb silence. All of Team NYBF's fears evaporated.

"I… I did?"

"Yes, ma'am. You said hello, wished her luck, and everything. Then, you passed out afterward."'

Goodwitch stared at him for a long moment. All of the sounds in the world seemed to die out. She slumped her shoulders.

"Huh. Fuck," she mused. "I guess I have been out of it."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Okay, so Goodwitch was just losing her mind. Mission back on.

"So, since you are the commanding officer," Ruby asked. "Would you mind escorting us to the Vault?"

Goodwitch contemplated Ruby's request. Did she really want to help these girls out? She could probably just kill them now and be done with it. Maybe. Like, at least, she could get to one of them before she keeled over—preferably Blake. She didn't think any of Team RWBY or friends—wait, when the hell did they get a bunch of friends to their side? Was that Pyrrha? God, she needed to lie down. She was becoming delirious. But anyway, she did not think it was a good idea to take RWBY and company to the Vault. She was under strict orders to protect it, after all. Then again, she would also jump through flaming hoops if Ozpin asked her. This brought her to a relevant question: did Ozpin really approve of sending Team RWBY here? She noticed a few of them carrying official badges, and the airship was military grade, but that seemed so unlike Ozpin to trust these bitches with anything. She supposed she could give him a call and ask. And then he would ask why she didn't tell him about Penny… and why she didn't tell him about Glass… wait, did she tell him about Glass? Or did she pass out immediately after she returned to the base? Okay, maybe calling Ozpin was a really bad idea. She would just trust her instincts, and her instincts said to keep Team RWBY as far away from the top-secret Vault as possible. It didn't matter how badly they wanted in, and that everyone who had gone inside had perished a horrible death—

"Come with me," Goodwitch said suddenly. She lazily pushed the First Sergeant out of the way, and beckoned the students to follow her. The twelve members of Team NYBF took that as an encouraging sign. They reluctantly followed her on a short trip across the base.

Ruby felt the suspicious eyes of the soldiers upon her. She wondered how much had happened to them in such a short span of time. So many Huntsmen now coming to their door, young and strange, engaging in secret warfare directly beneath their feet. They couldn't even comprehend the gravity of what they guarding. If Ironwood got his way, would they even be safe from his wrath? Would he kill them for stumbling too close to the truth? She didn't want to think about the consequences.

On the far end of the base, Ruby saw the target. She envisioned something bigger in her mind, more prestigious. The entrance to the Vault was a set of silver doors in a circular tube, which jutted out of the ground beneath a pile of dirt, leaves, and bramble. The metal was surprisingly not dull, though it had clearly been beaten down by the mud and rain over the millennia. It was about as wide as she was tall, which surprised her. She imagined that the Fables would have to squeeze into the entrance, shimmying down into an uncomfortable space in a rather humorous and humiliating fashion. The Vault was also, surprisingly, unassuming. There was nothing particularly intimidating about it, nothing to reveal the horrors that waited for her inside.

Goodwitch stopped in front of the entrance, and fumbled around her pockets for a few seconds. The wind whipped across the forest as Team NYBF waited for her. She eventually retrieved her wand. Team RWBY jumped at the sight of the weapon, though Goodwitch was in no position to use it. She took a deep breath, let out another cough, and then took another breath as she pointed the wand at the metal doors. The tip glowed—and with an awful groan, the metal moved. Ruby waited in horror, clutching Crescent Rose tightly, as the doors slid open, revealing a pitch-black chasm that drilled into the earth. The doors, telekinetically pulled apart, slid into the surrounding chamber, leaving the path clear for the students to descend into the earth.

"Come on," Goodwitch sighed. "The real entrance is down there."

Ruby gazed into the abyss, unmoving. The darkness was so overwhelming that it threatened to swallow her. A part of her screamed: Don't go down there. It begged to stay in the sun, the fresh air, the free land above. But there was another part of her that called her toward the danger. Go on, it begged her. Penny needs you. Don't be afraid. She turned around to her teammates. Most seemed just as nervous as she was. Nora was bubbling with anticipation, but the rest seemed small. Their hands clutched their weapons loosely like they might spill out at any moment.

"You just going to stand around all day?" Goodwitch asked. Ruby's attention returned to the chamber. How deep did it go? What was waiting for her within? This was her final chance to turn back, to think about the hell she would drag her friends into. She thought of the basement in that apartment building where she, Yang, and Penny were tortured. The darkness. The dampness. The smell. She remembered the pain of being tortured by the Reveler. She remembered her mother—everything that she sacrificed for her. Everything that was taken from her. The dark was terrifying. It would swallow her whole and leave nothing to remember.

And yet, for some strange reason, the darkness felt like home. Something, someone, inside her… it shuddered.

She was coming home.

Ruby took her first step through the Vault door and descended into the black of the earth.